Volleyball Star Rises With Stem Cells

Meet Elizabeth. A college volleyball star at the University of Arkansas. Elizabeth suffered a major blowout to her ankle during practice, leaving her tendons and ligaments completely shot. University doctors recommended she undergo surgery, which would put her volleyball career in jeopardy, but there had to be another option.

Elizabeth’s father approached Dr. Wade McKenna to see if there were any other options on the table. Dr. McKenna took a look at her MRI scans, and recommended stem cell therapy for her injury to avoid invasive surgery.

Dr. McKenna harvested Elizabeth’s own bone marrow to inject into her injured ankle. A major surgery can put one back months and months, while stem cell therapy can put the patient back on their feet within 8-10 weeks.

Elizabeth was back on the court ten weeks later with this minimally invasive procedure. With this technology, Elizabeth’s downtime was limited, so she wasn’t set back for too long, and she was able to get back into the game in no time.

Elizabeth went on to play two more years of volleyball, proving her strength and ability to overcome a significant injury. She attributes her healing success to the help of Dr. McKenna, and is grateful for the expertise of McKenna Orthopedics.

The bottom line? Stem cell therapy allows for a quicker recovery without the lengthy recovery time of traditional surgery. You can see Elizabeth’s full story here.

Are you suffering with an injury or other joint pain? Here at McKenna Orthopedics, we can get you back onto your feet, so you can get back onto the court (or the bike, green, or any other game of choice). Your suffering can end, and it can end with minimal down time.

The power of the human body is quite amazing. Take this 10-year study that focused on rotator cuffs where doctors looked to repair 90 injured patients. Half of the patients received their own concentrated bone marrow in their shoulder, and half did not.